CHICAGO (Reuters) - Rising obesity rates and a large
percentage of children born with low birthweights are dragging
down the overall health of American children in their first
decade of life, according to a report tracking the health and
well-being of young children in the United States.

While U.S. children overall have seen improvements in their
well-being in recent years, American children aged 6 to 11 are
four times more likely to be obese than similarly aged children
in the 1960s, the report found.

The report, led by researchers at Duke University in North
Carolina and the Foundation for Child Development, a private
advocacy group, looked at the well-being of children in early
childhood, those from birth to age five, and middle childhood,
or those aged 6 to 11, from 1994 to 2006.

The researchers found obesity among children in middle
childhood is nearly four times more common than in children of
the same age in a national survey in 1960s. For children aged 2
to 5, it is three times higher.

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"These are dramatic increases in the prevalence of
overweight children in American society from one generation to
the next," the researchers wrote. "The importance of this trend
for the health and well-being of children is difficult to
exaggerate."

They said overweight children have greater risks of type-2
diabetes, and often have elevated risk factors associated with
heart disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood
pressure.

They also found that the percentage of babies born with low
birthweights rose 12.3 percent from 1994 to 2005, an increase
they said was likely tied to delayed childbearing among working
mothers and an increased use of fertility drugs.

Low birthweight has been linked in large studies to a
higher risk of developmental and learning problems and to lower
academic achievement. It also has been linked with higher rates
of chronic health conditions.

Other trends were more positive.

The researchers found significant improvements in the
mortality rates of children, with the most dramatic improvement
for children aged 1 to 4. Death rates among these children fell
to 29.4 deaths in 100,000 in 2005, compared with 42.9 deaths
per 100,000 in 1994.

For those aged 5 to 9, rates of death fell 27 percent to
14.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2005.

The researchers cite a host of contributing factors,
ranging from better health care and nutrition to car safety
seats.

The report also noted a dramatic 84 percent drop in the
rates of lead poisoning among children aged 0 to 6. Lead
poisoning can result in physical, neurological and cognitive
problems.

Still, many children remain at risk for moderate levels of
lead in their blood should continue to be monitored, they said.